McDonough, Kelly – Spanish & Portuguese

Starting on: As soon as possible

Contact: kelly.mcdonough@austin.utexas.edu

This project studies the representation of Mexican indigenous “informants,” collaborators, and authors in their own right during the twentieth century in anthropological and linguistic research (specifically related to Nahua culture, Nahuas being native speakers of Nahuatl – language of the Aztecs and more than 1.5 million people today). For the majority of the twentieth century many of the indigenous people who provided the information for academic studies were seen as sources of raw data that the “intellectual” academician would then analyze and interpret. In reframing indigenous peoples as intellectuals in their own right,  I argue for an expanded understanding of indigenous intellectualism addresses both the tensions and complementary nature of oral and written modes of creating and transmitting oral and written indigenous knowledges. At the same time, with this approach as example, I advocate for a return to early twentieth-century anthropological and linguistic studies in order to tease out and recover voices of indigenous intellectuals that can and should inform contemporary studies of Nahua culture.

Research assistants will identify linguistic and anthropological studies on/with Nahua people in the 20th century in pertinent journals; download and code essays for general topics; assess how the indigenous person who provided the source material (usually called an informant or collaborator, but sometimes author) is recognized in the essays. 

Qualifications:  

Required: Advanced proficiency in Spanish; knowledge of Word and Excel; basic research skills.

Preferred: Interest in Indigenous Studies

Time Commitment: Negotiable, usually 4-5 hours per week, less during midterms and finals

Duration: through the end of the semester; summer opportunities also available. Research team meets one hour every other week

Compensation: Credit in the acknowledgments of the completed article

The sponsor of this project is available for meetings every other week

For more information please contact Kelly McDonough at kelly.mcdonough@austin.utexas.edu